Florida Republican Party Leaders Urge Support For New Education Standards

July 23, 2013 | 10:58 AM

American Conservative Union chairman Al Cardenas is one of five former Republican Party of Florida chairmen urging support for Common Core State Standards.

Five former Republican Party of Florida leaders have sent out an email asking state GOP members to support new education standards adopted by Florida and 44 other states.

The letter is signed by state Sen. John Thrasher and four other former state party chairmen. When Florida has raised its standards in the past, Thrasher wrote in the email, it has resulted in better scores on international tests and gains from black and Hispanic students.”

“Every leading indicator – test scores, graduation rates, national rankings, participation and achievement in Advanced Placement – continues to rise thanks to higher standards,” the email states. “But, we have to continue the fight. Common Core does that.”

Common Core has come under fire by those on both the right and left ends of the political spectrum. Their concerns include losing local control over education, higher costs and increasing time spent on testing.

Dear Florida Republican Leaders:
Like many of you, we have been following the conversation regarding a new education reform initiative soon to arrive in Florida schools – the Common Core State Standards.

Unfortunately, there has been a tremendous amount of misinformation about the movement to raise academic standards, especially among our fellow conservatives. As former chairs of the Republican Party of Florida, we wish to share our view on this effort and what it will mean for Florida’s students and our state’s future.

We know that the most critical component for creating an even-playing field where every single individual has the opportunity to achieve greatness is education. A good system of education holds the power to keep America economically competitive and secure, while also lessening future generations’ reliance on government and entitlement programs.

Florida once ran one of the worst public education systems in the nation. Now, as a result of conservative education reform based on stronger accountability and more choice, we have become a national leader in boosting student achievement. Even so, our academic standards currently do not set the bar high enough for children to be globally competitive. This trend is mirrored in states across the country. On international assessments in Math and Science, American students are embedded firmly in the middle of the pack. This hardly bodes well for America continuing as the dominant world power in the 21st Century.

The nation’s Governors recognized this problem almost 15 years ago and began a process that eventually led to states collaborating on the development of Common Core State Standards. President Obama has falsely and dishonestly tried to take credit for this initiative, but this was a state issue, and state leaders developed the solution needed. Lately, there have been a number of myths about this initiative. We would like to address these directly.

Common Core is not a federal dictate or national mandate. States are free to adopt the standards or to not adopt them. And, if they have already adopted them, they are free to drop out at any point.

Some have alleged that the new standards change laws around student data and privacy. They don’t. Regardless of adopting the Common Core, states remain in control of their students’ private information, just as they are now. The federal government does not have access to individual student-level data – just aggregate information by school on how students are performing. States must remain vigilant in working with local school districts to continue protecting student information.

The Common Core State Standards only set academic expectations in English and Math. They do not dictate curriculum – the textbooks used, the reading assignments handed down, the lesson plans employed by teachers, and the thousand other methods or materials used to help students learn. The standards are merely benchmarks for what a student should know by the end of the year at each grade level, from K-12. Ultimately, local school districts and teachers remain in control of their curriculum and in charge of their classrooms.

Some have expressed concern about Common Core’s impact on parental choice. Common Core State Standards in no way impact the right of parents to choose the best educational opportunity for their child. We already have academic standards; we are just raising the bar. Home school parents and parents with children in schools that do not receive state funding remain completely unaffected. In non-traditional public schools that receive either voucher money or other state-funding, the current dynamic remains unchanged.

Any exercise of this magnitude will have its supporters and detractors, its legitimate criticisms and its inevitable conspiracy theories. The simple questions for Florida are these: Will these new standards ensure we provide our kids with a better education and the taxpayers with a better return on their investment? Will the new assessments be better than the existing assessments? Will students graduate high school more prepared for college and the workforce?

We believe the answer to these questions is “yes.” And, we are not alone. Common Core supporters include a wide swath of conservative leaders, including Mike Huckabee, Mitch Daniels, Haley Barbour, Bobby Jindal, Chris Christie, Susana Martinez, Rick Snyder and our own Governor Rick Scott. And, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, who led the education reform efforts in Florida for eight years and initiated the turnaround of Florida schools, has been a strong proponent of higher standards.

We’ve seen what high standards mean to students in Florida. In 1998, nearly half of Florida’s fourth graders were functionally illiterate. Today, Florida’s fourth graders and eighth graders are above the national average in Reading and fourth graders are above the national average in Math with eighth graders closing in on that benchmark. Best of all, Florida’s Hispanic and African-American students are making the greatest gains, narrowing the achievement gap for the first time in our lifetime. Every leading indicator – test scores, graduation rates, national rankings, participation and achievement in Advanced Placement – continues to rise thanks to higher standards. But, we have to continue the fight. Common Core does that.

Finally, there are good conservatives on both sides of this issue. Questioning the integrity of anyone involved on either side of this debate does not do our Party or this issue any favors. We implore our fellow Republicans to judge the Common Core State Standards by what they are: academic standards, not curriculum and not a national mandate. You can learn more about the Common Core State Standards at www.highercorestandards.org. Read them. Listen to what teachers say about them. If you disagree, do so from an informed perspective.

Thank you for taking the time to learn more about this initiative and thank you for continuing to provide the strong leadership needed to keep our Party strong and united in the Sunshine State.

Sincerely,

John Thrasher, Former Republican Party of Florida Chairman

Carole Jean Jordan, Former Republican Party of Florida Chairwoman

Al Cardenas, Former Republican Party of Florida Chairman

Tom Slade, Former Republican Party of Florida Chairman

Van Poole, Former Republican Party of Florida Chairman

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Comments

We are better than CCSS

Mr. Thrasher’s comments are not entirely true. Yes this country needs to raise the standard of education state by state and town by town. However the common core will NOT bring us there! Every state should retain their sovereignty and these new standards and all of the underlying strings attached sentence our children to an unreasonable amount of testing. Instead of a teacher using their creativity and talents they find themselves teaching to the standardized tests. Their rating depends on the success of the child. There is also a massive amount of personal identifiable information being shared. Adopting the common core standards is extremely expensive and the burden to meet the cost falls largely upon the taxpayers! People like Bill Gates and companies like Pearson stand to make billions on the implementation of the common core and the development of textbooks, software, tools amd standardized test. Parents please do your research before you allow your elected officials lead you down a certain path! These politicians should remember that come election time; parents, teachers and school administrators have long memories!

Amy

PARCC (a test associated with Common Core which may not be used at all) is what is tied to the increased amount of testing, NOT the Common Core Standards themselves. Common Core is a set of standards, not a curriculum. They don’t tell teachers how to teach. They cover fewer topics in greater depth to foster greater critical thinking and less memorization. There are no required textbooks, but they do offer suggested texts. Examples? The Gettysburg Address, Declaration of Independence, and other very Conservative documents. I absolutely agree that it is necessary to do research before blindly accepting anything — and I believe that goes for both sides. I have done my research, and I know where I stand.

Gretchen Hoyt McDevitt

Amy, please continue your research by reading the following from those very concerned about Common Core:

Way to go Amy! I love your statement ” I absolutely agree that it is necessary to do research before blindly accepting anything — and I believe that goes for both sides.”
I think too many do the “blindly accepting” why I have no clue! I can guess, they are too self absorbed and lack in caring for others… So sad!

jani

The question is, who will make the most money from this adoption? With our administration’s push to Leave No Child (and teacher) Untested, where will there be monetary gains? who found the loopholes? Those are the bigger questions. I doubt that this is about the education of the students. I have too many years of experience behind me to believe that this is solely for the children. Someone already has their hands in my pockets.

the tired teach

Amy, you are drinking the Kool-Aid. Teachers are told how to teach each standard. Suggestions even accompny some of the standards. In addition to the fact that the K-8 math standards, for example, are very poor with errors and omissions (% is mentioned ONCE) there is going to be a huge cost . . . billions of $$$ for computers just to take the tests (They will be in a museum by the time the elem. students are ready for college.) And do you mean by “depth” that each student has to asnswer “Why” for every answer he/she gives? It is a pathetic attempt for several people to make a bundle of money and ruin the education of our students. Then again, that could be the purpose.

Jason Buckwheat

WE NEED THE FEDERAL GOVERNMENT TO HELL OUT OF OUR SCHOOL SYSTEM. IF YOU LOOK THE WAY THESE JERKS RUN WASHINGTON DC IT IS EASY TO UNDERSTAND WHY WE DON’T NEED IN OUR SCHOOLS. LOOSER’S !

RAW

I think the Common Core is a terrible thing! Plus if any state looks at the State of Florida’s Education system as a role model, I hope they are viewing it as what not to do! I agree with some of the others who posted comments, and it’s about GREED. I also believe it’s going in the path our government hopes. Snowing the people, dumbing down the people, so that the government has full control. I think we as AMERICANS should be ashamed and stop the blaming and take the hit (for we all deserve it for allowing this) and together take a stand and take back our country! Leave the greed alone as it should be. And the first place to start is with CARE. Care people! Admit, Begin, Care, Do, Effort, Family, ….. ABC’s! Why are so many ignoring what is happening I have to wonder….. I care don’t you? We must think for ourselves and practice “honesty is the best” Without care and trust there is nothing but bad to be had.

outraged_mom

Im looking at the “Party Belief” questions/choices for issues such as abortion, gun control, taxes, military – If anyone filled out this questionnaire and came out a republican – they should be institutionalized for the criminally stupid and cruel. And, Im a republican – the nonsense they are teaching the kids is pure indoctrination.

outraged_mom

And just because the GOP say’s something, certainly doesn’t make it true – I think we all can agree – the political class is looking for one thing and one thing only – campaign contributions -that’s it. Everything they say and do proves it.